Its not easy losing weight, in fact in can be downright difficult. Obesity is one of the primary contributors to heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. The 3 primary causes that lead to obesity are:-

* An excessive intake of calories
* A lack of exercise or physical activity
* Genetic susceptibility

Excessive Eating

The facts are simple, eating too much WILL result in you gaining weight. The average peron has an intake of 3 square meals a day. A good start at combating obesity would be to ration the foods that you eat. Rather have six meals of smaller portions, this would help you feel full throughout the day and will also help to maintain your weight loss regime.

Carbohydrates are not the enemy!

There has been a lot of bad press recently involving carbohydrates.People think that Carbs are the enemy as consuming them can lead to weight gain... This cannot be further from the truth. Carbohydrates are a vital part of a healthy diet. Carbohydrates break down and are digested quicker than proteins which in turn converts to glucose. whatever excess glucose that the body doesn't burn up is stored as fat. The answer to combating weight loss is to focus more on complex carbs and less on simple carbs.

Complex carbs are found in fruits, vegetables, nuts,seeds and grains a few good examples include breads,rice,pastas,potatoes and green vegetables. Simple carbs include sucrose (table sugar), fructose (fruit sugar) and galactose (milk sugar) All that's needed are a few simple modifications to our current diets to make a big difference in our lives.

Start of by replacing all the white breads and rice with low GI products. there are plenty to choose from nowadays, these include LOW GI, bread,brown rice and Low GI cereals. Cut down on sugars and instead try a natural sweetener like honey. The most important thing you should never ever forget is water. You should drink at least 8 glasses of water everyday and maybe a bit more if you are exercising.

Exercise

One of the hardest things to do when trying to lose weight is to follow and stick to an exercise program.This might be because of time constraints, a lack of will power or you are just downright lazy! The sad truth is that most people complain about being fat but they never end up doing anything about it.The first thing to change before you start working on your body is your mindset.

The easiest way to start exercising is simply to take a walk. When was the last time you took the dog out for a walk? Start of slowly for the first few weeks. The walking will eventually lead to running as your body gets used to it. The fastest way to drop the pounds is through Cardiovascular training,this involves high energy rapid training.this includes running,cycling etc.This raises you metabolism hich increase the way your body uses energy. The higher your metabolism the easier to lose weight!

Get involved in a gym, not so much for the equipment and trainers but more because of the people you will meet. Its a great place to meet new friends who are also going through the same thing you are. The support that friends give you is vital if you want to enjoy working out.

Genetic susceptibility

Not everybody is the same, Our body's are all unique. Sadly some people are more susceptible to obesity than others. This however is no excuse for feeling sorry for yourself. Following the above mentioned method for weight loss can and will make a difference in your lives.Support groups are available that can help people in this position and they can custom make an exercise routine and diet regime around the factors affecting genetic weight gain. Its simply a matter of research.

Stem cells (SCs) have the ability to develop into many other types of cells. Totipotent cells known as blastomeres have the additional ability to develop into an individual organism. Pluripotent cells can develop into any kind of cell. Multipotent cells can develop into a variety of cells in a given lineage such as connective tissue cells or epithelial cells.

Pluripotent cells include embryonic stem cells, certain cells isolated from umbilical cord blood, and adult stem cells which are found in bone marrow, the brain, and other locations. Overall, SCs may be able to provide replacement tissue for treatment of many life-threatening diseases. Specialized cells and tissues derived from SCs may be used to treat Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophies, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Also, research on SCs may lead to the ability to grow organs such as the heart, kidney, liver, and pancreas. These brand-new organs would be used for transplantation, solving the ongoing severe shortages of suitable available replacements. Ultimately it may be possible to grow organs from stem cells derived from a person's own somatic cells (such as a skin cell). A skin cell would be reprogrammed to become an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS cell), and the iPS cell would be directed to become a kidney, liver, or whatever organ was needed. The astounding benefit of being able to use iPS cells is that the donor and the recipient are the same person. The organ created is an automatic immunologic match, thus avoiding the need for immunosuppressive drugs.

Treatment of a child with leukemia would no longer require a time-consuming and possibly fruitless search for a bone marrow donor. Those requiring a new kidney or new lung could provide skin cells which would be directed to grow the needed organ. Replacement parts would no longer be sought from parents, siblings, or first cousins. Graft-versus-host disease, which has the potential to kill the recipient, would be eliminated by using the patient's own tissue to create the transplant.

SC research will also lead to new developments in gene therapy for conditions such as muscular dystrophy and Huntington's disease. At present, a significant roadblock to successful gene therapy is the mechanism of delivery of the replacement genes. Early approaches packaged the replacement genes into viruses, using the viral particles as the as the delivery vector. The field of gene therapy effectively came to a sudden halt in 1999 when a teenager died as a result of being treated with such a viral vector. Insertion of replacement genes in stem cells derived from the patient will eliminate the possibility of such harms.

Successful treatment of chronic disease. Successful treatment of genetic disease. Slowing of the aging process. Organ transplantation. Improved methods of treating severe injuries. Stem cell research and the possibility of regenerative medicine are pointing the way toward improved health and well-being for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Many practical roadblocks remain and there are many grand challenges in this brand-new field. The key is to make possible ongoing research.